Latest news with #PortAugusta
ABC News
23-05-2025
- ABC News
SA Police internal inquiry into Davenport incident finds allegations of excessive force 'not substantiated'
An internal inquiry overseen by the Office of Public Integrity has found allegations a SA Police officer, who has since resigned, used "excessive force" when dragging a man along concrete during an arrest "were not substantiated". WARNING: This story contains footage of an incident that readers may find distressing. In November, two videos emerged showing a man being shoved into a wall by a police officer before being dragged through a front yard at Davenport, near Port Augusta, in the state's north. The videos, which were shared on Facebook, showed a man talking to police before being pushed to the wall with force, causing him to collapse onto the ground. The second video showed the man being dragged along a concrete path before he was arrested by a police officer. "The complaint related to two allegations that police used excessive force and one allegation about the use of unprofessional language," a statement released by SA Police said. "Subsequently, the two allegations of excessive force were not substantiated, however the allegation about the use of unprofessional language was substantiated." The statement confirmed the police officer subject of the inquiry had since resigned from SAPOL — but for unrelated reasons. "The officer has since resigned from SAPOL to pursue alternative employment, however that decision was unrelated to the incident or this inquiry," it read. "Had the police officer involved not resigned from SAPOL, it is likely they would have been subject to management resolution under the Police Complaints and Discipline Act." SA Police also confirmed the Office of Public Integrity had been overseeing the inquiry. The ABC has contacted Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher's office for comment.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Australia's gambling problem rooted in the NT
On today's program: Australia now leads the world in gambling, we lose more than $25 billion dollars a year on legal forms of gambling, that's the largest per capita in the world. And it's the low fees and low taxes in places like the Northern Territory that have helped us take out that staggering record. Reporter: Jack Hislop (Darwin) Port Augusta was thrust into the spotlight when it was announced as one of several sites earmarked, under a Coalition election pledge, to host a nuclear reactor. Now locals say its future lies in renewables and mining. Reporter: Kathryn Bermingham (Port Augusta) Bunuba elder Patsy Ngalu Bedford spent the first 75 years of her life without a birth certificate. The Department of Justice is visiting remote and regional communities in the state to assist people with registering their births. Reporter: Dunja Karagic (Broome)
ABC News
14-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Nuclear future off the agenda in Port Augusta, as locals turn to renewables and mining
From inside his Port Augusta workshop, Colin Versteeg has built a TikTok following of thousands. The mechanic posts videos of himself at work, telling viewers how he replaces particular parts or musing about the day-to-day of car repairs at his Augusta Highway shopfront. While social media had connected him with the world, Mr Versteeg said attracting people to his town had proven more challenging. Mr Versteeg said travellers must pass through Port Augusta on their way from Adelaide to the Eyre Peninsula, Flinders Ranges and the Northern Territory. That should make it an ideally-placed hub for the transport and tourism sectors — but it has not panned out that way. "Everyone's got to go through Port Augusta but, for some reason, no-one stays here, stops here or builds here," he said. Port Augusta was thrust into the national spotlight last year when it was announced as one of the sites earmarked to host a nuclear reactor under a Coalition election pledge. The proposal drew mixed responses within the town, with some welcoming a potential economic boost and others raising concerns around safety, the environment, and the suitability of nuclear for the grid. While the Coalition has not formally abandoned the plan, its resounding defeat at the recent federal election suggested voters did not embrace the idea. Trevor Paynter and his brothers spent decades working at Port Augusta's coal-fired power station, which was decommissioned in 2016. The region has spent recent years transitioning to renewables with mixed success, and has attempted to replace the jobs that were lost with the closure. Like many regional centres, Port Augusta has recorded a slow population decline in recent decades. Mr Paynter, who supported the nuclear plan, said the region's future success hinged on the employment opportunities on offer. He said a nuclear reactor would have created jobs during its construction phase, but the plant would not require a large workforce once it was up and running. Instead, he suggested Port Augusta was well-placed to play a greater role within South Australia's mining industry. "They've got the infrastructure here for some of the heavy industry," he said. "There's a lot of mining going on around the place, [they could] tap into some of the heavy construction maintenance." Greg Bannon felt the region had scarcely settled one nuclear debate — the now-scrapped proposal to build a low-level nuclear waste dump near Kimba — when the Coalition's plan was put forward. "It was really like a punch in the guts," he said. Mr Bannon, who lives 40 kilometres from Port Augusta at Quorn and had campaigned against the dump, said Port Augusta has had to reinvent itself in the past and could do so again. "We also had a very big railway workshop here, it was a huge employer with lots of apprenticeships," he said. "Railways built everything. So that was a big loss when that was taken away and of course the most recent large employer has been the coal-fired power station." He said the transition to renewables had been more economically beneficial than some gave it credit for — and maintained that Port Augusta's future was still in energy generation. "Renewables have provided jobs," he said. "We've got Sundrop Farm down there, which … grows tomatoes from gulf water that's been desalinated and solar mirrors." He said another potential energy source was tidal energy, which he felt had not been fully explored. On the outskirts of Port Augusta sits the Aboriginal community of Davenport — a small population that local Malcolm "Tiger" McKenzie said had the potential to make a big contribution. The Adnyamathanha, Kuyani and Luritja elder said, to ensure the future prosperity of Port Augusta, a focus must be on training and opportunities for young people. He said that should happen in collaboration with current or future industry. "If we all come together as one because there's a lot of mining companies … then we formed a partnership, joint ventures with those mining companies," he said. "We can create like a training hub, a business hub here in Port Augusta to build those opportunities for Aboriginal people and for all people."
ABC News
06-05-2025
- ABC News
New Port Augusta Prison unit had barrier gaps prisoners could fit through
A new section of Port Augusta Prison had to be fixed before it could open after it was discovered barriers had been constructed at a width prisoners could slip through. The Blue Bush Unit at the prison was due to receive its first high-security prisoners from Yatala Labour Prison in March, but staff raised safety concerns prior to its opening. The department ultimately agreed to fix the barriers after the Public Service Association (PSA) launched a case in the SA Employment Tribunal. PSA general secretary Natasha Brown said the issue involved a window barrier separating staff and prisoners. "Effectively what it was was a window to the officers' station that contained gaps which were large enough for a prisoner to be able to squeeze through," she said. " So that would have potentially allowed prisoners unauthorised access into what should have been a secure staff area, posing some very serious safety concerns for our members. " A problem involving barriers at a new Port Augusta prison unit has been resolved. ( Reuters: Jorge Adorno, file photo ) According to the union, workers requested that prison management acknowledge the hazard — but an email to all staff stated that the Department for Correctional Services (DCS) "don't agree that the issue identified poses an imminent risk of serious harm to staff by the meaning of the WHS legislation". After the case was launched with the tribunal, the department committed it would not open the unit until the gaps were secure. The work is now complete. Ms Brown said it was "shocking" that the department designed and installed the barrier without realising the safety implications. "But what's even more shocking is that after the risk had been identified to them, the department continued to push for the unit to be opened without fixing it first," she said. PSA general secretary Natasha Brown says the design flaw could have seen prisoners accessing a secure staff area. ( Supplied: Public Service Association of South Australia ) She said the design flaw could have had "disastrous consequences". "Prisons are dangerous environments at the best of times," she said. "That's why it's so critical that the department is doing everything possible to reduce any potential risks and provide the safety environment and the safest systems possible." In a statement, a DCS spokesperson said: "The Department worked collaboratively with WHS representatives and the matter was resolved two days after being lodged which allowed Bluebush to reopen on 28 March 2025." "The Bluebush redevelopment represents a substantial investment by the State Government to significantly improve the safety and amenity of the unit for staff and prisoners."
